Wake Up, America… with Gabe!

I awakened the other day to a message from New Hampshire Technical Institute Professor Stephen Ambra:

Hi, Jim — Not sure if you signed up for Gabe’s post…but one of things I look at on a daily basis…

I click on the link, and was taken to Wake Up To Politics, sub-head: This Is Your Wake-Up Call.

And the intriguing tag below, reads: “I’m Gabe Fleisher, reporting live from WUTP World HQ in my bedroom. It’s Thursday, September 6, 2017. 425 days until Election Day 2018. 1,153 days until Election Day 2020.”

Politico, Huffington, Red State, Daily Kos… but who is Gabe Fleisher?

Fleisher is a 15-year-old High School student from the suburbs of St. Louis whose “…love of politics and history,” his website says, “began at an early age, when he attended the 2009 presidential inauguration. In April 2011, Gabe began publishing his own daily political email blast, which he called The Daily Rundown, to send to a lone subscriber…his mom.”

Five years and 2,000 plus subscribers later, Gabe’s newsletter comes to your in-box, as well as Facebook and Twitter, as a series of headlines and bullet points that cover the political events and issues du jour. i.e. His September 6 Newsletter offers a breakdown of several topical categories:

* “Known for his famed bestseller, ‘Art of the Deal,’ Donald Trump ran for President as a dealmaker. On Wednesday, he cut an agreement with congressional Democrats, perplexing and angering leaders of his own party.

* “At a Wednesday meeting in the Oval Office, Trump agreed to a proposal offered by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to punt both fiscal deadline facing Congress this month — the threats of a government shutdown and debt default — to December. Trump embraced a deal funding the government and increasing the debt ceiling for three months, which will also be attached to a $7.85 billion Hurricane Harvey aid package.”

The text is both easy to read and comprehensive of the previous day’s events.

“The President’s Schedule: Kuwait meeting; Ryan dinner.”

“At 10:30am, Trump receives his daily intelligence briefing. At 11am, he will meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. At 12:15pm, the President will welcome Amir Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al Sabah of Kuwait to the White House.

“Finally, at 7pm, the President will have dinner with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), a day after surprising Ryan by accepting a deal with Democratic leaders just hours after the Speaker had blasted the proposal. The dinner also comes after a Washington Post report on Wednesday that House Freedom Caucus leaders met with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Monday, and ‘have begun to discuss who could replace Ryan as speaker, should conservatives rebel against him.’ ”

Wake Up’s “Rundown,” offers an even more succinct detailing of Washington-related events:

* “Cohn Out of Running for Fed Chair President Trump is no longer likely to nominate National Economic Director Gary Cohn to become Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. “The shift in Mr. Cohn’s prospects for the top Fed job arises largely from his criticism of Mr. Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville,” the newspaper reported.

* “Trump is reportedly considering renominating Chairwoman Janet Yellen for a second term; a slate of other candidates has also emerged in the wake of Cohn’s public critique of Trump in an interview with the Financial Times.

* “Drip, Drip, Drip The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Facebook has informed congressional investigators of $100,000 in ads it sold during the 2016 campaign to a Russian company, raising questions “about whether the Russians received guidance from people in the United States” in targeting the ads to specific Americans.”

Clear, concise with supportive links, Wake Up To Politics has gained the attention of some notable subscribers, like The Atlantic’s Gene B. Sperling; MSNBC anchor Steve Kornacki; CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett; as well as reporters for The New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today.

“On the walls of his second-floor, 10-by-12 room,” The New York Times writes (May 26), “are framed articles from Politico (‘Missouri Sixth Grader May Be Next Mike Allen’) and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (‘Fourth Grader Is Political Junkie’). Also, copies of the Declaration of Independence and the first page of the Constitution.”

Gabe juggles his political passion with school, but commits to sending out his daily newsletter by 8 am each morning. I’ve signed up for my own subscription, and look forward to waking up to politics with Gabe!